If You Want Referrals, be Referable

I usually get blog ideas from things from other blogs, LinkedIn discussions, and Facebook conversations. For instance, this blog by Seth Godin “On Finding Referral” which I posted to Facebook. One of my good Facebook friends – and no relation - Lori Johnson commented almost immediately that one needs to make referrals before one can expect to get them. I totally agree – but there is a catch.

In business, as in everything else in this interconnected world, you must give to get – but quite often the people you give to and the people you get from are different. The best know exemplification of this was contained in that great tearjerker movie, “Pay it Forward.” If you haven’t seen it, rent it. Lori and I make a great example of how this works. Lori works with another talented professional, phototgrapher Gretje Fergeson to produce great headshots. I learned about them through another friend’s Twitter feed (the miracles of social media) and got a new set of headshots of my own. Lori did my makeup perfectly, incorporating her knowledge of how the photography process changes the requirements to create great natural looking shots.

Since I was so greatly pleased, I repost their headship schedule and refer them both every opportunity I get. It is highly unlikely that either one of them will use any of the services I offer. That’s okay. They weren’t searching for services they needed and found me. I was searching for services I needed and found them. The fact that they did a fantastic job, and that I am now a fan of their work, make me refer them anyway.

On the other hand, I have clients who use my services and refer me, but I don’t use theirs. My clients, whose services I do not use, provide great services as well. Providing customers and clients with a great experience is a basic requirement for clients associated with The Inner Office, Inc. and Success Center USA businesses, of which Business Builder Marketing is one. We go to great lengths to network our clients. Networking precedes referrals. So, even though we do not use a specific client’s services, we always try to find other clients and contacts who might.

The moral of this story is that if your business isn’t worth referring; isn’t special; doesn’t do a great job; everything in that goes-around-comes-around circle comes to a screeching halt and it won’t start up again, let along gain speed, until you make your company referable. No matter how you turn it, no matter how much one wants to believe otherwise, having a successful business starts with a solid foundation, great principals, ethics, creativity, and more. Just be a great business!